Sex and the City, the Sequel: World Domination

I've been a fan of Sex and the City ever since my sister forced me to watch it back in the day. The writing is clever, the insights ring true and the actresses are hot. But I'm a little freaked out by news that the producer of SATC, Darren Starr, is creating a similar show set in my neighborhood.

Carrie and Co. are famous for popularizing the Cosmo and making Manolo Blahnik a household name, but I think the show's influence goes much deeper. Everywhere you turn there is an increased premium on fabulosity, to steal a term coined by Kimora Lee Simmons (check out this inexplicably fascinating Kimora blog.) People get more dressed up to go out. Their banter is more self-consciously clever. And it's not just a New York thing; you now have to wait behind velvet ropes at bars in my hometown of Tacoma, Washington. I love Tacoma as much as anyone, but it's just not the sort of place that needs doormen and dress codes.

My only hope is that the new version of Mr. Big is a semi-neurotic bureaucrat with a goofy roommate and great quads. Have you seen the Sex and the City effect in action?